Guides/Games
Valorant FPS drops and stutter: 10 things to check
Valorant is light on the graphics card and heavy on the processor and memory. That's why a strong PC can still drop frames or stutter: the reason is usually a setting or a setup mistake, not the hardware.
1. Check Valorant's own frame limits#
Open Settings → Video → General. Valorant has several limits, and a forgotten one makes every other change look useless:
- Limit FPS Always and Max FPS Always: if it's on, your frame rate can never go above that number.
- Limit FPS on Battery: on laptops this caps you as soon as the charger is out.
- Limit FPS in Menu and in Background are fine to leave on: they only apply outside a match.
If your FPS sits on the exact same number whatever you do, a limit is almost always the reason. A limit isn't bad: capping just under what your PC can hold makes frame times steadier. Just make sure it's one you chose.
2. Use fullscreen and check the refresh rate#
Set Display Mode to Fullscreen. Then check that Windows runs your monitor at its full refresh rate: a 144 Hz or 240 Hz monitor often runs at 60 Hz without anyone noticing. How to check the refresh rate.
3. Plug the monitor into the graphics card#
If the cable sits in a port on the motherboard, the game can run on the processor's built-in graphics or take a detour through it. How to tell the ports apart.
4. Turn on Multithreaded Rendering#
Under Settings → Video → Graphics Quality, Multithreaded Rendering spreads the work over several processor cores. On any modern processor it should be on. Turn it off only if you see crashes or graphics errors with it.
5. Check your memory speed (XMP / EXPO)#
Because Valorant leans on the processor, it also leans on your RAM. Out of the box, memory runs at a safe default speed: often 4800 MT/s for DDR5, 2133 or 2400 for DDR4. A kit rated faster only runs at its speed once its memory profile is turned on in the BIOS. Check XMP or EXPO in 30 seconds.
6. Make sure your RAM runs in dual channel#
One stick, or two sticks in the wrong slots, halves the memory bandwidth. In CPU-heavy games like Valorant that shows up as lower FPS and worse lows. How to check dual channel.
7. Laptop: plug in and check power mode#
On battery, a gaming laptop holds back the processor and the graphics card. Play plugged in, then set Settings → System → Power & battery → Power mode to Best performance. On laptops with two graphics chips, make sure Valorant runs on the dedicated one: Settings → System → Display → Graphics, pick VALORANT-Win64-Shipping.exe and choose High performance.
8. Update the graphics driver#
Get the driver from NVIDIA, AMD or Intel directly, not only through Windows Update. After a driver update the first match can stutter while shaders are rebuilt; that settles after a game or two.
9. Close overlays and background apps#
Overlays and tools that poll your hardware rarely change the average FPS, but they can cause short freezes. Close Discord's overlay, recording software and RGB lighting tools one by one and play the same mode again to see whether the stutters go away.
10. Check temperatures#
A processor or graphics card that gets too hot slows itself down after a few minutes. Watch clock speeds and temperatures with HWiNFO (free) while you play. What matters is whether the clock speed drops during a match, not a single high number.
About NVIDIA Reflex#
NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency (On or On + Boost) shortens the delay between your click and the shot on screen. It's worth turning on, but it lowers latency, it doesn't raise FPS.
Questions#
Why does Valorant stutter on a good PC?
Does more RAM give more FPS in Valorant?
Should I cap my FPS in Valorant?
Is it the internet or my PC?
Frametide's free scan checks your PC for setup problems like this one and tells you how many it found. Premium shows which ones and how to fix them. With Premium it also measures FPS, 1% lows and stutters in Valorant itself, so you can see which settings actually help.